We live in an age where everything flows quickly, fast food - faster cars, faster computers, faster production, faster sports and relationships that start and end quickly... We miss and do not see many things in our lives that we live so fast. We are going through a period where our shadows cannot keep up with our bodies. By practicing Tai Chi and/or Qigong, we re-establish the lost connection between our mind and body.
We focus our intention, awareness and direction on our body, feet, hands, etc. The result is greater balance and improved awareness, posture and coordination. The slow stretching and relaxation of our muscles also encourages increased and improved blood and Qi circulation and flow throughout our body.
When tense muscles are relaxed, pain is reduced. Slow movements help strengthen your muscles without doing too much work. With regular exercise, your stamina increases, which leads to greater muscle relaxation.
Many people, especially beginners, feel awkward when they move too slowly. However, practicing slowly can help you develop good coordination, balance, flexibility, and timing, while also increasing your awareness of your body, its sensations, your breath, your mind, and yourself. You miss out on all of these when you move quickly! As Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners become more proficient, they move more slowly. The movements become much more fluid and free, creating a strong connection between the upper and lower body. The fundamental rule in Tai Chi and Qigong, “when one part moves, all parts move,” comes to life. This allows you to get more benefit from the exercises.
When you move quickly, you can’t take comfortable, slow, deep breaths. It would also be very difficult to integrate your breathing with faster movements. Slow movements also produce slow, deep breaths as our diaphragm rises and falls. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is felt that proper breathing can relieve, heal, and even cure many chronic diseases. This internal organ massage improves our body’s functions in numerous positive ways.
Now let's think about the lymph flowing through your body. Lymph moves slowly and rhythmically as it does its best to remove waste, toxins, reduce inflammation, fight infections, and prevent disease.
What about your nervous systems? While the autonomic nervous system controls most of the body’s internal processes, the sympathetic system is quick and easy to stress. The parasympathetic aspect of the nervous system is Yin, slowing you down, helping you recover and de-stress. Slowing down lets it do its job!
Slow, relaxed movements help you enter a meditative state, which further increases the softness and fluidity of your movements, allowing you to control them better. At this point, the body is energized and develops a sense of calm as well as a meditative state.
It eliminates or at least reduces the physical, emotional and mental benefits gained from fast-paced Tai Chi and/or Qigong practice! When it comes to martial arts, when your body and mind internalize the movements, you will see that you will find the expected speed and power in times of need.